Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Camping

The 59,020-acre Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge hosts a rare piece of the past - a remnant mixed grass prairie. This refuge is an island where the natural carpet of grass escaped destruction because the rocks underfoot defeated the plow.



The prairie community hums with life. The refuge provides habitat for large native grazing animals and Texas Longhorn cattle. Bison, elk, deer, coyotes, red-tailed hawks, prairie dogs, turkey, bunch grasses, post oak and blackjack oaks - these are just a few. More than 50 mammal species, 240 bird species, 64 reptile and amphibian species, 36 fish species, and 806 plant species thrive at this refuge.

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, located in southwestern Oklahoma near Lawton, has protected unique wildlife habitats since 1901 and is the oldest managed wildlife facility in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service system. The refuge's location in the geologically unique Wichita Mountains and its areas of undisturbed mixed grass prairie make it an important conservation area. The Wichita Mountains are approximately 500 million years old. Measuring about 59,020 acres (238.8 km2), the refuge hosts a great diversity of species: 806 plant species, 240 species of birds, 36 fish, and 64 reptiles and amphibians are present.

Read more about Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge at Wikipedia